How to Lower your Cholesterol Naturally

High cholesterol can be a deadly ailment. Unfortunately, a large contributing factor to high cholesterol is the genetic propensity to have high cholesterol. Knowing this sends many people running for the pharmacy. However, new cholesterol lowering drugs should not be the first line of defense unless urged by a physician. It is possible for most people to lower their cholesterol naturally through diet and exercise alone. Follow these simple tips to begin to lower your cholesterol naturally.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Limit your intake of saturated fats and cholesterol from food. Saturated fat is the number one cause of high cholesterol from diet and should be your largest dietary concern.

2. 
   Whole Grains

   Eat a lot of fiber. Fiber is a wonder food that is found in abundance in beans, whole grains, vegetables and fruit. Fiber works by cleaning the blood system and ridding it of cholesterol. This is why many cereals are now challenging customers to lower their cholesterol by eating whole grains.

3. Take an oily supplement like fish-oil or garlic oil. These antioxidant rich supplements have been shown to lower cholesterol levels.

4. 
   Cycling

   Exercise more often. Exercising and losing weight can greatly contribute to reducing cholesterol levels.

5. Take a B-Complex vitamin daily. It has been shown that B6, B12 and folic acid work together to lower high cholesterol levels.

6. 
   Butter

   Switch from butter or margarine to a spread containing sterols and/or stanols. Sterols and stanols help flush cholesterol from the bloodstream and prevent saturated fats from ever entering the blood stream. These healthy spreads also eliminate many of the nasty fats associated with butter.

Tips & Warnings

• Quit smoking. Smoking is a huge contributor to high cholesterol.

Resources

• eHow Health & Fitness Guide